thirza kotzen

"I walk down the street. A sharp noise makes me turn around and there for a moment, before normality dissolves the image, is a sight of unexpected beauty.
These are my lifesongs.
Paintings that celebrate the reverence of the moment.
As we rage towards the millennium and many look at a global picture, I find myself increasingly beguiled by small ordinary things. Captured in paintings, these seemingly minor moments take on an importance which might otherwise remain elusive."

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Stimulated by a trip to India this exhibition of paintings, collagraphs and small jewel like icons tells of Thirza Kotzen's continued captivation with colour and strong design. The rhythm, balance and structure of these works engage the viewer in a statement that at first appears to be literal. But one's perception soon shifts to an abstract journey. The predominantly square formats draw one around the forms and colours into the layers and textures of the paint, and on into the complex weave of the mood and sanctity of the moment. The geometry imbues the paintings with a sense of stillness and distances them from reality. This removes the subject matter from being entirely specific and suggests a world that is both familiar and universal.

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These works are evocations of the spirit of life. There is chaos - streetscapes, market crowds, temple devotions, buildings, bicycles… and there is calm - rice fields, distant mountains, boats on water. They are challenging works: provocative, mysterious and insistent.

 

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